Darwin's Influence on Religion

When Darwin published his revolutionary ¬The Origin of Species, he forever influenced the world. It rocked the Christian religion to its very core, providing clear evidence that animals had not been formed in a few days, but evolved over billions of years from the simplest forms of life. Darwin’s theory directly contradicted the story of creation in the book of Genesis in the Bible, and as a result, instigated an uproar among the religious community. Many Christians felt, as do many today, that evolution undermined the existence of a God and is often synonymous with atheism (Scott, 534). Unlike other theories, like atomic theory, relativity, and gravity, evolution directly contradicts scripture in the Bible and so has significantly affected the Christian religion. Darwin’s theory has forever impacted the Christian religion- his theory has led many Christian churches to accept evolution as a scientific theory, has led most Christians to reconcile their own beliefs with evolution, but has also continually impelled many Americans to refuse a sound theory that contradicts a literal interpretation of the Bible.

After time, religious leaders slowly realized an out-dated, two-thousand-year-old book, written by various uneducated authors (who believed in sorcery and magic), may not exactly describe the scientific process of evolution. Especially in the latter 20th century, evolution gained a lot of mainstream support by various denominations of Christianity. In Pope John Paul II’s message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Pope John Paul II neither accepted nor rejected the theory of evolution, but provided that the theory’s explanation was at least plausible. (Pope John Paul, 527-528). Among other notable churches, the United Presbyterian Church in the United States sent out a statement in 1982 completely opposing legislature to introduce “Creation Science” in the public school system. The Presbyterian Church stated that a literal interpretation of the Bible “is in conflict with the perspective on Biblical interpretation characteristically maintained by Biblical scholars and theological schools in the mainstream of Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, and Judaism” (United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 530). The Lutheran Church, as well as the Episcopal and Unitarian Church, also opposed legislature mandating the teaching of “Creation Science” in public schools. They supported separation of church and state, promoting a teaching of science based solely on scientific methods and principles (The Lutheran World Federation, 532-532; The General Convention of the Episcopal Church, 532-533; Unitarian Universalist Association, 533).

Darwin’s theory enlightened the scientific community, but most people initially refused to accept the theory. Among the public, it fueled the fight between science and religion. Over time, however, people began to accept his theory and reconcile it with their own religious views. “The